The materials this week will take us from a Tony-award-winning play, to a family-owned business, and to one of the most famous cases in the history of the United States Supreme Court. Tact, we’ll see, plays a big role in a wide range of places.

Firing people can be hard. So can apologizing. So the “Speaking Studies” this week offer some useful tips on good ways to navigate each of these difficult situations. They’ll also touch on a related topic: forgiveness.

Nice work! You’re almost done with the fourth and final course in “Good with Words: Speaking and Presenting.” We’ll close out the series with a review exercise and a nice story about one of my students building up the courage to speak to an audience at the United Nations Human Rights Council, while interning in Geneva, Switzerland. We also make time for an exercise that explores the important link between tact and tragedy.